The present disclosure generally relates to the field of semiconductors, and more particularly relates to forming contact silicide on semiconductor structures.
With many conventional silicide formation techniques there is a high thermal budget requirement for drive-in of top metal toward the interface where silicide and silicon (or silicon germanium) meet. This can cause device degradation or silicide encroachment. Therefore, many of these conventional techniques perform a selective etch of the top metal (stop on bottom metal). However, this fabrication method limits the use of materials to form the silicide.